Well-drilling machine.



WELL DRILLING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 25, 1904.

3 8HEETS-BHEET 1.

PATENTED JAN. 10, 1905.

I. SIMPKINS. WELL DRILLING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 25, 1904.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Znz/aztor PATENTED JAN. 10, 1905.

PM E. SIMPKINS. WELL DRILLING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 25, 1904.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

W ii'nesses Ina/en for UNITED STATES Patented January 10, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

WELL-DRILLING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 779,671, dated January10, 1905. Application filed .iarch 25, 1904. Serial No. 199,912.

To aZZ w/tom it Wtay concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK E. SIMPKINS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Allegheny, in the county of Allegheny and State ofPennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inell-Drilling Machines, of which the following isa specification,reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to portable machines for drilling oil, gas, andother deep wells. One object is to so construct the apparatus that thedrilling-cable is paid out from its reel and passed to and over the beamwhen drilling with the latter and directly to the tools without theinterposition of clamps, temperscrew, or other devices now generallyemployed for connecting the tools with the beam, thereby reducing thecost of the drilling outfit and saving the cable from the great Wear towhich it is subject by the clamps. As considerable difficulty has beenencountered in providing clamps that will securely hold wire cable, thisobstacle is entirely overcome by my apparatus, wherein the clamps areeliminated.

A further object of this invention is to provide improved mechanism foractuating the drilling-cable in the operation of spudding and to provideimproved actuating means adapted for beam-drilling and spuddinginterchangeably.

Still a further object is to provide improved means for so actuating thedrilling-cable as to accelerate its down or working stroke and makegradual or relativelyslow its up or lifting stroke. 1

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a machineconstructed in accordance with my invention, the same being arranged forbeam-drilling. Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the arrangement of themechanism for spudding. Fig. 3 is a top plan view of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 isadiagrammatic view illustrating the several positions of the spuddingmechanism. Fig. 5 is a sectional plan View of the arm for transmittingpower from the band-wheel shaft, and Fig. 6 is a side elevation of thesame and the spudding-sheave. Fig. 7 is a detail View of one of thedrillingcable sheaves carried by the beam.

Referring to the drawings, 2 designates the horizontal frame of themachine, mounted on the usual ground-wheels 3, and rising from the frontof the frame is the mast or derrick 4, braced from the rear of themachine by bars 5. At one end of transverse shaft 6, journaled in frame2, is band-wheel 7, to which passes a belt from engine 8 on the front offrame 2, as usual. On the other end of the shaft is friction-wheel 9,carrying on its outer side the roller wrist-pin 10. Also journaled inframe 2 is shaft 11, which is preferably of angular section excepting atone end, 12, said end being round and embraced by block 13, which isadapted to turn thereon. A longitudinally-recessed or trough-shaped arm14 is pivoted at 15 to this block and is adapted to swing laterally onthe pivot for engaging and disengaging the wrist-pin. as shown in Fig.5. Shaft 11 is utilized for oscillating the spudding-sheave, and forthis operation the angular channel piece or clip 16 is moved outward onangular shaft 11, with which it rotates, and

caused to embrace block 13, in which position it is held by keeper 16.For beam-drilling, clip 16 is disengaged from block 13, as

shown in Fig. 1 and in full lines in Fig. 5, thus permitting block 13 tofreely turn on the round shaft end 12.

17 is the Samson-post mounted on frame 2 and supporting walking-beam 18,having at its rear end pitman 19, which is adjustably connected at 20 toarm 14:. The arrangement of this arm is such that a quick upward strokeor movement is imparted thereto by wrist 1 0, this movement beingsimultaneous with the downward or working stroke of the tools in boththe spudding and beam-drilling operations, while during the upstroke ofthe tools and the simultaneous downward movement of arm 14 the travel ofwrist 10 in channel-arm 14 is such that the movement is relatively slow.The position of the parts at the beginning of the working stroke of thetools is shown in full lines in Fig. 6, and their position at theconclusion of that stroke is shown in dotted lines.

For the spudding operation pitman 19 .is disengaged at 20 and moved toposition shown in Fig. 2, and clip 16 is adjusted, as above described,so as to cause shaft 11 to turn with arm 14. Fixed to this shaft arearms 21, which support sheave 22, over which passes the drilling-cableX, the extreme positions of sheave 22 while spudding being shown indotted lines in Fig. i, while in the same figure the solid linesrepresent the inoperative position of the sheave, as when drilling withthe beam. The oscillating movement thus imparted to sheave 22 istransmitted directly to the drilling-cable, and the latter is shortenedand lengthened and the tools raised and lowered by rapidly-succeedingstrokes.

The drilling-cable reel 23 is preferably positioned in frame 2 belowshaft 11, and the reel-shaft carries at one end friction-wheel 24:,which is positioned between wheel 9 and the fixed brake-block 25, and asthe reel-shaft rotates in a movable bearing controlled by handoperatedbar 26 wheel 24: may be moved into frictional engagement with wheel 9for reeling the drilling-cable or into engagement with block 25 forholding the reel against rotation. The sand-line reel 27 is preferablyarranged slightly in front of shaft 11, and the shaft thereof is alsomounted in a movable bearing and carries friction-wheel 28, which may bemoved into engagement with the periphery of band-wheel 6 for operatingthe reel, the adjustment being controlled by bar 29, similar to bar 26.The movable bearings of the reelshafts have not been shown in detail, astheir construction is well known in the art.

I preferably form beam 18 of two pieces of channel iron arranged back toback and slightly separated. Hinged at 32 between the forward portionsof the beam members is the two-part arm 33, and journaled in this arm issheave 34. When drilling with the beam, arm 33 is turned downwardthereinto and so held by the sliding keeper 35, and in this position theaxis of sheave 34 coincides with the axis of the beam, so that theoscillations of the latter do not effect sheave 34 in the slightestdegree. From reel 23 the drilling-cable X passes upward overcrown-pulley 36 and then downward and around sheave 35 and forward fromthe latter over sheave 37 at the front end of the beam, from which thecable drops in a vertical line to the drilling-tools without theinterposition of a temper-screw, clamps, or other devices now generallyused for connecting the beam and cable. I prefer to mount sheave 37 on aslide 38 and to connect the inner end of this slide to the extremity ofarm 33 by a link 39, so that when arm 33 is turned upward, as in thespudding operation, sheave 37 is drawn inward from the extremity of thebeam, as in Fig. 2, and entirely out of the way of the cable, which inthat operation depends directly from the crown-pulley. Theforwardly-swinging arm 33 carries sheave 34 to position forward, evenfarther than is shown in Fig. 2, for embracing the drilling-cable whenchanging from spudding to beam-drilling, the cable being inserted bysimply springing outward one member of arm 33 to admit the cable, asshown in Fig. 8, and after the cable has been thus inserted it isslackened sufficiently to enable the arm to be turned backward anddownward, as in Fig. 1. lVith this mechanism the cable is under perfectcontrol, is paid out from the reel as required without stopping thedrilling, and is no more affected by the oscillations of the beam thanthough suspended therefrom by clamps and a temper-screw, as heretofore.

From reel 28 the sand-line 4:0 is preferably carried forward underanchor-pulley 41, from which it passes upward and around a sheave (notshown) located in the upper portion of the derrick, as is usual in thisclass of machines.

I do not confine myself to the structural details herein disclosed, asobviously the same may be changed or modified in many particularswithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as definedby the appended claims.

I claim as my invention 1. The combination of a shaft having a crank, anarm mounted to oscillate in the plane of the crank and operativelyconnected thereto, and a beam and spudding mechanism adapted to beactuated by said arm interchangeably.

2. The combination of a shaft, an arm mounted thereon andadaptedinterchangeably to turn with the shaft or independently thereof,spudding mechanism operatively connected to the shaft, a walking-beamhaving a detachable connection with said arm, and means for oscillatingthe arm.

3. The combination of a shaft, spudding mechanism operatively connectedto the shaft, an arm adapted to turn on the shaft, an armengaging membermovable on the shaft and adapted to turn therewith, a walking-beamhaving a detachable connection with said arm, and means for oscillatingthe arm.

4:. The combination of a frame mounted to oscillate on a horizontal axisand carrying a spudding-sheave which is moved in a vertical are by saidframe, a cable-reel beneath the plane of the frame-axis, and adrilling-cable passing upward from the reel in position to be deflectedhorizontally by said sheave.

5. The combination of a horizontal shaft, arms projecting therefrom, asheave carried by the arms, an actuating-arm projecting from said shaft,a cable-reel beneath the plane of the shaft, a drilling-cable extendingupward from the reel and adapted to be deflected horizontally by saidsheave, and means for oscillating the said shaft.

6. The combination of a shaft, oscillating spudding mechanism mounted onthe shaft, an arm loosely mounted on the shaft, means for rigidlyuniting the arm and said mechanism, a beam adapted to detachably connectwith the arm, and a shaft having a crank operatively connected to saidarm.

7. The combination of a shaft angular in crosssection, a spudding-sheavecarried and adapted to be oscillated by the shaft,'an arm looselymounted on the shaft, a clip rotatable with the shaft and movablethereon for detachably engaging the arm, and a shaft having a crankoperatively connected to said arm.

8. In well-drilling apparatus, the combination of a derrick, acrown-pulley in the upper portion thereof, a cable-reel, a drillingcableextending from the reel upwardly to and over the crown-pulley anddepending from the latter to the drilling-tools, a walking-beam, theguides for the cable intermediate the crown-pulley and tools, one ofsaid guides being carried by the outer portion of the beam and the otherguide having position at the beam-fulcrum, means for engaging anddisengaging the cable and said guides without disengaging the cable fromeither the crownpulley or the tools, and spudding mechanism foractuating the drilling-cable when the latter is disengaged from saidguides.

9. In well-drilling apparatus, the combination of a derrick, acrown-pulley in the upper portion thereof, a cable-reel, a drillingcableextending from the reel to and over the crown-pulley and depending fromthe latter to the drilling-tools, a walking-beam, a sheave concentricwith the beam-fulcrum, a sheave at the outer end of the beam, means forengaging and disengaging the drilling-cable and said sheaves withoutdisengaging the cable from either the crown-pulley or the tools, andspudding mechanism adapted to actuate the cable when the latter is outof engagement with said sheaves.

10. In well-drilling apparatus, the combi mentioned sheave and forwardalong the beam directly from said sheave to and over the sheave at theextremity of the beam and de- .nation of a walking-beam, a sheave, asheavesupport pivoted to the outer portion of the beam and adapted tohold the sheave with the axis thereof coincident with the beam-axis, anda cable-guide carried by the outer portion of the beam and alining withsaid sheave.

14. In well-drilling apparatus, the combination of a walking-beam, anarm pivoted to swing vertically on the beam,a sheave mounted on the arm,means for securing the arm with the sheave and beam-axis coincident, acableguide at the outer extremity of the beam, and a drilling-cablepassing around the sheave and guide and downward from the latter.

15. In well-drilling apparatus, the combination of a walking-beam, anarm pivoted to swing vertically on the beam, a sheave mounted on the armand adapted to be held thereby with its axis coincident with thebeam-axis, a movable cable-guide at the outer extremity of the beam andoperatively connected to the said arm and adapted to be drawn rearwardwhen the arm is turned upward, and a drilling-cable passing around saidsheave and over and downward from the said guide.

16. In well-drilling apparatus, the combination of a walking-beam, anarm pivoted to swing vertically thereon, a slide at the outer end of thebeam, a sheave carried by the slide, a link connecting the slide andsaid arm and constructed and arranged to draw the slide inward when thearm is turned upward, and a drilling-cable extending around and guidedby said sheaves.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

FRANK E. SIMPKINS.

Witnesses:

J. M. NESBIT, ALEX. S. MABON.

